Reserve Forces

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the: (1) Army's incremental cost estimate to mobilize, deploy, and pay a reservist called up for active duty; (2) Department of Defense's (DOD) fiscal year (FY) 1998 supplemental funding request for military operations and FY 1999 budget amendment for military operations, which include funds for the use of reservists in Bosnia and Macedonia; (3) type of reserve units that would be used in these missions; and (4) number and type of Army reservists deployed for Bosnia operations since 1995.

GAO noted that: (1) according to budget information provided by the Army, the monthly incremental cost to use a reservist averages about $4,385 per month, which accounts for the military pay and accrued benefits provided to a reservist while on active duty status; (2) this status includes all reserve component soldiers who are mobilized, in transit, deployed, demobilized, or on leave; (3) in addition to the military pay, there is a one-time cost of about $800 for the mobilization of each reservist called up for active duty; (4) for the Bosnia operation, there is a one-time cost of about $600 per reservist for mission-specific clothing; (5) on April 30, 1998, both the House and Senate passed legislation that provides $478.9 million in supplemental funding for DOD operations in Bosnia; (6) these supplemental appropriations, as well as previously appropriated funds approved by Congress, will fund mobilized reserve component pay and allowances of $155.7 million and $1.9 million for Army operations in Bosnia and Macedonia; (7) DOD submitted a FY 1999 budget amendment for funding operations in Bosnia and Macedonia; (8) this request includes $205.9 million and $1.9 million in mobilized reserve component pay and allowances for Army operations in Bosnia and Macedonia; (9) since Bosnia mission requirements have not been finalized, decisions on which reserve units to mobilize for FY 1999 have not been made; (10) currently, personnel from the 1st Calvary Division and III Corps are developing Bosnia mission requirements and determining the active units that can be deployed to meet the requirements; (11) reserve forces will be utilized for those requirements that cannot be met by active forces from all services; (12) according to Army officials, final requirements for reservists for the Bosnia and Macedonia missions may not be established until June 1998; (13) at that time: (a) needed reserve units will be notified for training; and (b) the units will receive mobilization orders approximately 30 days before they are to mobilize; (14) as of November 1997, over 15,000 personnel from both the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard have been used for the Bosnia operation; and (15) this figure includes reservists deployed in Bosnia as well as reservists stationed in Hungary, Croatia, Germany, Italy, and the United States.